Legal professional privilege and accountants: How confidential are your 'confidential' communications?

Effective taxation advice requires a mix of legal and accounting
skills. As such, both accountants and lawyers are consulted on
taxation matters.

Taxpayers who consult taxation lawyers are afforded the
protection of legal professional privilege (LPP),
which prohibits from disclosure certain confidential communications
between a taxpayer and their lawyer. However, taxpayers who consult
accountants are not afforded the same protection and there is an
inherent risk that their communications may require disclosure in
certain circumstances.

This article discusses the following topics, using recent case
examples: